The show must go online: digital theatre

Perhaps one of the most positive things to come out of a year or two of living through a global pandemic is recognising our ability to adapt. Adaptation has been all around us in recent times, and we should feel proud of the level of resilience we have all shown in the face of mounting disaster.

With the world still enduring uncertain times, it seems that many sectors will have to continue to adapt in order to survive. Theatre is one them.

The pandemic has left many theatres in dire economic straits, but let's not forget the incredible progress that has been made over the last two years. Digital theatre exploded in a way that nobody could have predicted. With the live experience denied us, theatre makers sought to reach audiences online, often to great effect.

Since March 2020 you may have tuned in to the recorded version of a live stage performance such as those made available through NT At Home, you may have entered one of the online escape rooms created by Swamp Motel, or even witnessed the digital version of Dante or Die's extraordinary User Not Found.

The digital theatre space is now very much established, and arguably many years' worth of progress has been made in an incredibly short time – progress which we would be foolish to let slip away.

The initiative

One programme that is striving to keep the momentum going is YouTube's Digital Theatre Initiative. In May 2021 four artists were chosen as the recipients of a grant designed to support them in creating new work for the online theatre space.

A heavyweight panel of theatre professionals were assembled to select from the applications including poet and playwright Inua Ellams, director/writer Bijan Sheibani, and the much-loved Dame Sheila Hancock.

The goal of the initiative is not only to support theatre artists to make work for the digital space, but also to make the theatre a more accessible place to a broader audience. A theatre should be at the heart of a community where everyone feels included in the sharing of stories, and welcomed into the building. For those groups that might currently feel excluded there is the hope that seeing work online will encourage them to cross the threshold of the theatre itself, and become new audience members.

© STUART MARTIN

The individual artists on the YouTube initiative are not the only ones committed to making theatrical work online. The Young Vic, Wise Children, and the Royal Shakespeare Company (to name just a few) are all continuing to produce work in the online space.

A virtual system

One new method of sharing this work is digital touring. Using this model, a show can be produced and performed every night from the same theatre, but will be broadcast to different venues around the country on a weekly or nightly basis – emulating the idea of a national tour, without the financial and climate costs of touring.

Imitating a traditional touring schedule in this way appears to be an innovative and viable solution to the question of how online productions will make money, which is not always clear.

Another sticking point has recently been addressed by The Writers Guild of Great Britain which has published a brand-new set of terms for writers who are commissioned to create work to be performed online.

As is the case with any artwork disseminated online, it is very difficult to maintain the author's claim of copyright. The new ‘digital principles for theatre’ prohibit use of the phrase ‘in perpetuity’ meaning the writer's copyright should in no circumstances be handed over. Instead, authorship will remain with the writer, and managers should take all the necessary steps to avoid illegal downloads.

Setting up a sustainable system

David Edgar, who is one of the many writers backing the digital principles, said: ‘digital delivery of stage plays provides thrilling new opportunities for theatre work to reach new audiences. But there's a danger that current digital deals – aptly described as the ‘wild west’ – are threatening writers' ownership of their own work, and risking future productions of their work, in theatre and other media.’

The new frontier of digital theatre brings with it a host of issues around money and copyright, which the WGGB are right to address so quickly, supporting its artists with speed and commitment.

These new principles, along with YouTube's theatre initiative are also encouragement that the next generation of TikTok-ers and Instagram content creators can find a place for their work in the theatre. And that theatre makers of all kinds, from any background can contribute to artistic conversations being started by major producing houses, wherever they are in the world.

© COURTESY URBAN CONCEPTZ
Behind the scenes of Stolen from Urban Conceptz

Urban Conceptz theatre and film collectiveOne of the recipients of YouTube's Digital Theatre Initiativebit.ly/3c2kROHTechnology and the future of theatreA talk by the director of digital development at the Royal Shakespeare Companybit.ly/3kngandThe best live streamed theatre of 2020According to the expert team at Exeunt MagazineBit.ly/3DbOTviDream.onlineBehind the scenes at the production of a virtual environment inspired by Shakespeare's playbit.ly/2YCsvMx